DICASTERY
PER GLI ISTITUTI DI VITA CONSACRATA E LE SOCIETÀ DI VITA APOSTOLICA
Prot. n. DD 2037-1/85
DECREE
It is the competence of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life “to promote, animate, and regulate the practice of the evangelical counsels, in the way in which it is lived in recognized forms of consecrated life, and also in relation to life and action in Societies of Apostolic Life” (Const. Ap. Praedicate Evangelium , 121). También corresponde al Dicasterio vigilar sobre la vida de los Institutos en lo que se refiere a la formación, la disciplina religiosa, el apostolado y el gobierno (cf. Const. Ap. Praedicate Evangelium , 121, 124).
For many years, the Apostolic See has been following with great attention the delicate situation of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, a clerical religious institute of diocesan right founded by Fr. Carlos Buela in the Diocese of San Rafael, Argentina, and erected in the Diocese of Velletri-Segni, Italy, where the main see is located. This care has also been made explicit through the service of some Pontifical Commissioners who have accompanied the life of the Institute.
On the occasion of the General Chapter that took place in 2016, the Dicastery appointed the Vicar General and two members of the Council. Subsequently, new critical situations were manifested in the field of government and training. In the light of this situation, together with the analysis of the numerous problems, especially concerning the person and behavior of the founder, Fr. Carlos Buela, the need emerged to entrust the direction of the Institute to an external person, of extensive experience, of institutional relevance and of marked moral authority. Therefore, on June 10, 2019, it was provided to appoint Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló, Pontifical Commissioner of the Institute of the Incarnate Word.
In recent years, the Pontifical Commissary, assisted by his Council and in close collaboration with this Dicastery, has carefully studied the situation of the Institute, also with regard to the presence of its members in the Dioceses, verifying the composition of the communities present throughout the world and internal discipline. It has also provided for a prudent revision and reduction of the number of circumscriptions into which the Institute was divided and the appointment of the new Provincial Superiors.
The meticulous statistics prepared by the Commissariat have made it possible to know, first of all, a great weakness in the training process, identified as one of the factors that has determined the high number of dropouts from the Institute, which since its inception has lost about 40% of its members. Scant attention has also been paid to the constitution of communities, often made up of only two members or of priests who are isolated with a pastoral task, to the detriment of fraternal life in common, which is one of the essential elements of religious life (cf. can. 607 §2).
The Pontifical Commissary had also been granted, by special disposition, the faculties that law grants to the Ordinary of the main see with regard to judicial action, to proceed in all matters relating to the very serious accusations presented against the founder, Fr. Carlos Buela.
Card. Santos Abril y Castelló, with a Decree of May 14, 2020, constituted a Special Criminal Court. This Tribunal, after a careful process, concluded on July 20, 2021 that Fr. Carlos Buela “committed the crime referred to in can. 1395 §2, that is, a crime against the Sixth Commandment of the Decalogue, committed with violence” against five members and former members of the Institute of the Incarnate Word.
The Holy Father Francis, with pastoral charity, accepted the request for appeal presented by Fr. Buela and granted the Pontifical Commissioner the power to constitute a Special Court of Appeal. However, Fr. Buela passed away on April 23, 2023, before the Court of Appeal could complete his mandate.
In spite of the repeated and serious measures of the Apostolic See – administrative and penal – which have recognized Fr. Guilty of the crimes for which he was accused, in the Institute of the Incarnate Word and in the Women’s Institute of the Servants of the Lord and of the Virgin of Matará, the founder continues to be presented as a priest unjustly persecuted by the Holy See, and the victims are considered false and insincere.
Therefore, this Dicastery, after having evaluated all things, with the intention of helping the Institute to bring about an effective change, and considering that “the faithful have the right to have their Pastors point out to them the authenticity of charisms and the credit that those who claim to possess them deserve” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter Iuvenescit Ecclesia, 17), decides:
- To appoint H.E. Msgr. José Antonio Satué Huerto, Bishop of Teruel and Albarracín, as Pontifical Delegate of the Institute of the Incarnate Word.
- To grant it all the powers of government in accordance with universal law and the Constitutions of the Institute, with full power to repeal them if it deems it necessary.
These provisions were specifically approved by the Holy Father on 3 December 2024.
Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary.
From the Vatican, 8 December 2024,
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
João Braz Aviz Card
Prefect
Sr. Simona Brambilla, M.C.
Secretary
Leave a Reply